Man sentenced for raping autistic woman who was on her way home from church in Tacoma
A man who attacked an autistic woman as she was on her way home from church in Tacoma was sentenced Friday, according to court records.
A Pierce County jury convicted 37-year-old Diego Martinez-Martinez of first-degree rape and first-degree kidnapping earlier this year.
Superior Court Judge Jack Nevin gave him a sentence of 22 years to life, which was above his standard sentencing range. That means the state’s Indeterminate Sentence Review Board will decide when or if Martinez-Martinez is released.
Charging papers gave this account of what happened:
The 28-year-old woman got home late June 17, 2018 and told her mother she’d been attacked.
A man asked her for money as she walked to a bus stop, slapped her, held a knife as he took her to a tent in the woods, then assaulted her.
The victim has the mental capacity of a child between the ages of 5 and 10, according to court records.
Police identified Martinez-Martinez as a suspect. He denied knowing or being with the woman and said he didn’t live in a tent.
DNA linked him to the crime.
Someone from a nonprofit organization that has worked with the woman for about 10 years wrote the court ahead of sentencing.
The letter said that the woman has been traumatized by the attack, that she is more quiet, less trusting and no longer sees friends.
